Yu Yu Hakusho: Ryū's Tale
by Aki0Storyteller0
Summary: Ryū has been a slave for several years; as caretaker of all new arrivals, Ryū usually sees the bright shine of hope dim and disappear from their eyes. She has been hoping for freedom and dreaming of escape since the moment she was captured herself. When Ryū is summoned to take care of a girl that she met once before... [might discontinue this story]
1. Meeting an old friend

(Disclaimer for Story: I own only my OC's, I will not ever own YuYu Hakusho! T.T)

(A/N: Okay, let's get this show on the road. I came up with the idea for this story a long time ago, but hadn't really done anything with it. So, I'm going to let you all read this first chapter and wait to see what you all think; if I get some feedback that shows that people like what I've done, I'll continue to update this story. If not, I won't update it or will remove it.)

* * *

><p>YuYu Hakusho:<p>

Ryū's Tale

Chapter 1:

Meeting an old friend

Running, screaming, yelling, crying, these were things that could be heard all around the medium sized room, but the yells, screams, and cries were not coming from anywhere in the room. They came from other rooms, from people in the rooms both adjacent to the room and in those across the hall. The sounds of running came from people rushing down the hallways.

A girl stood in the center of the room across from a dresser with a mirror on top, a brush in hand. Black locks pulled over a shoulder took on a red tint when the light hit them right. She stared into the mirror and a girl stared back at her. Teal eyes, light tan skin, a small, straight nose, rose petal pink lips, and finely shaped black eyebrows arched above large, expressive eyes were all set in an oval face with a hint of baby fat clinging to her cheeks. Her attire was a red kimono with a black obi.

To the girl's right pressed against the wall was a small futon neatly folded. To her left surrounded by pillow like seats was a table that stood low to the ground, a teapot and several cups were set on top. The last wall, the one behind her, had only a door set into it.

A soft humming came from the girl as she brushed her hair. A sad smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as the door to the room opened. "Hello? Ryū?" a small voice asked from the open door.

"Yes, Tonbo?" the girl in front of the mirror asked as she looked at the other girl's reflection. The other girl was taller than her, skin a sickly pale color, emerald locks fell out of the braid that ran down her back, shapely, emerald eyebrows furrowed together above lavender eyes, a nose that was a little too big for her face, and a pair of pale lips were all set into a heart shaped face. She was dressed in a light green kimono with a light blue obi.

"M-may I come in?" Tonbo's voice shook as she spoke.

"Of course," Ryū said a slight frown on her face, "What's up?"

"M-M-Master," Tonbo started.

"He didn't beat you again, did he?" The emerald haired girl looked sorrowful. "That bas-"

"Ryū, please don't." The black haired girl growled softly as she beckoned the other girl over to one of the seats. "Ryū?"

"Come here and let me see what he did."

"Okay," Tonbo said with a small smile, "T-thank you, Ryū." Tonbo quickly moved to sit and let her friend tend to her wounds.

Ryū growled as she saw the bruises and felt the broken bones that had been given to Tonbo by the man they were forced to call "master" and Ryū silently swore that he would pay dearly. Holding a hand over the injuries, Ryū sighed as she calmed herself; Tonbo watched as Ryū's hand glowed red and the wounds on Tonbo's body healed.

"You get better at healing every time I come in here." A male's voice drifted over to the two girls.

"Kaigara, you never change." Ryū said with a small smile, she was happy to receive a compliment from him.

Kaigara let out a small whine of protest before he walked over to the two. He was taller than the two girls. He had an oval face for the most part, his jaw being square-ish kind of threw that off, deep purple eyebrows arched above lavender eyes, a medium but fitting nose, and pale lips made up his face. His skin was the same color as Tonbo's, but that was most likely because they were twins. Them being twins was not something that most people realized. Kaigara's gravity defying hair was a deep purple color with the exception of an emerald colored starburst. "That's unfair and untrue." He said as he walked.

"Big brother, she didn't mean it in a bad way. Isn't that right, Ryū?" Tonbo said, lavender eyes shining. Ryū smiled, it was so cute in her opinion that Tonbo looked up to her twin in the same way that most would look up to a hero.

"I don't think he deserves to take it as a compliment if he can't tell that it was supposed to be one in the first place." Ryū said as she glanced over her shoulder at the boy. Kaigara pouted and crossed his arms.

"Meanie," he muttered. He was dressed in a yellow muscle shirt and dark purple pants with a black belt.

"Dimwit."

"Witch."

"Twerp."

"Hag."

"Idiot."

"Loser."

"Fool."

"What did you say?" Kaigara tried to grab Ryū in a headlock but only caught air.

"I said you're a fool; are you going deaf as well?" she was behind him and easily sidestepped his punch as he turned around.

"I swear one of these days…" he trailed off when he heard Tonbo laughing. Kaigara smiled, he had missed the sound that rang like light sweet bells. Tonbo hadn't laughed, himself as well, in years.

"Glad our fighting is so funny." Ryū said, "It's good to hear you laugh."

"Do you ever think we'll get out of here? Away from that mad- I mean, our Master?" Ryū and Kaigara shared a look before turning back to Tonbo.

"I'll take that for a stupid question." Another male's voice sounded from the doorway. The three turned to face the new arrival.

"Kyo!" Ryū exclaimed with a smile before she was pulled into a hug.

"Ryū-san, it's good to see you again. You look just as lovely, if not more so, than the last time I saw you." Kyo said with a smirk as he released the smaller girl, who stuck her tongue out at him.

"Kyo, good to see ya man!" Kaigara said as he slapped the shorter man on the back, making him grunt in pain.

"Strong as ever it seems." Kyo was taller than Tonbo too, he smiled at the girl. He had bright blue hair, matching eyes and eyebrows, a small nose, and light pink lips. His facial structure could've been made by the gods, at least in Tonbo's opinion. Kyo's attire was a black sleeveless shirt and black pants.

"Same old Kyo, right guys?"

"Yup."

"You said it."

"Heh, you all are the same as always too."

"Hey, I resent that!" Kaigara yelled. The others laughed, but they all froze when they heard the ringing of a bell; it was a deep, heavy sound.

"Uh-oh," Tonbo whispered.

"Another one? Damn." Kyo's hands became fists that shook.

"Poor unfortunate soul." Kaigara muttered.

"I've got to go you guys," Ryū said and her friends turned to her. "It's my job to see to the new arrivals, remember?" They watched as she seemed to disappear into the wall beside the low table.

"I always get a chill when I see her do that."

* * *

><p>"You called Master." It wasn't a question. She stood with her back just inches from a wall as she looked around the room. Dark gray stone walls, torches scorching the stone, three men and a girl in the center of the room, an empty throne, a small table next to it with a bottle of wine and a half full, or half empty, glass on top.<p>

Two of the men were dressed in red uniforms with red eared helmets and black gloves and boots. Ryū came up to their shoulders; the same seemed to be true of the girl they were holding. The last man was short, coming up to Ryū's nose. He had receding gray hair and small beading orange eyes. His attire was a gray kimono with black and blue spiral like designs and sandals.

"Yes, I did. Come here, Blossom, and tell me what kind of demon I caught this time." Ryū shot a glare in the man's direction when he wasn't looking.

She said nothing but came closer, looking closely at the girl. Ryū blinked, why was this girl that stood before her so familiar? With a small scowl, she brushed the thought away. Through narrowed teal eyes, she took in all the details that she could about the girl; starting with her appearance and starting from head to toe.

Long mint-green hair kept in a low ponytail in the back that was tied with a fancy, red ribbon, and some of her hair fell in front of her ears and fell to just past her shoulders. Thin, mint-green eyebrows arched above red eyes, which made Ryū think of rubies, were large and expressive; a small but cute nose; small but full lips were all part of an oval-ish face. A long-sleeved, light blue kimono with a darker blue obi, tied in the back like most wore them, a red 'lining' that could be seen around the collar of her kimono indicated that she wore a hiyoki, or an under-garment, and white socks and sandals.

She was pretty - no, that wasn't right; she wasn't pretty per se, but she wasn't really beautiful either. If asked Ryū would've said that she was about halfway between the two. She looked sad, and Ryū couldn't blame her; no one really like being a slave, or the idea of being one for that matter.

Ryū frowned, who was this girl and why was she so familiar?

"Well? What type is the wench?" Ryū's Master demanded; he was impatient and wanted answers.

"She's an Ice Apparition." Ryū said, her voice dead, but her eyes blazed with fury; she recognized the girl, her name was Yukina. Ryū had never thought that Hojo, her Master, would ever get his hands on an Ice Maiden, but he had… not like she was going to tell him that, he'd force the poor girl to make the hiruseki stones that only could be made by the tears of an Ice Maiden.

"Really?" He laughed before turning to Yukina. "What's your name, Wench?" He had that creepy sneer on his face that was filled with greed and joy.

"Her name is Yu- Yume." Ryū said, stuttering as she tried to think of a false name to give her Master, not that he noticed.

"Yume, huh? How'd you know?" He turned narrowed, suspicious eyes towards her.

"We've met before; it has been many a year since then, Master." Ryū said, telling the truth.

"Heh, whatever. Take her to your room." Hojo said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Sir?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion; he had never had a new arrival stay in her room, but in a room close to her own. She couldn't help but wonder at this change.

"You know her, right? So there should be no problem. Now get," he ordered and Ryū forced herself not to wince as the bands wrapped around her wrists and ankles, hidden by her kimono, started to burn her skin, making a sizzling sound. Yukina, who didn't have these bands _yet_, looked worried as she caught sight of the yellow glow and the flicker of pain through Ryū's eyes.

"Of course, Master." Ryū caught Yukina's attention and tilted her head towards the wall she had stood before earlier, "This way." Yukina nodded and followed Ryū to the wall. She watched as Ryū seemed to disappear into the wall and quickly followed, finding herself in a hallway.

"Um, excuse me…?"

"Ryū," the one word was spoken in a warm tone that spoke of happiness and sorrow.

"T-thank you, Miss Ryū-" Yukina started.

"No 'miss', just Ryū. It's been awhile hasn't it, Yukina?" Ryū looked back at the startled ice maiden.

"How?" was all she got out before Ryū started to talk again.

"You don't remember me? Ouch, that hurts. And here I thought that the little ice apparition I used to play tag and hide-and-go-seek with would've remembered me. I guess I was wrong." Her voice and face filled with pseudo hurt as she turned to face Yukina fully.

Yukina looked even more surprised than before, but recognition became clear in her eyes; after a moment or two, she smiled and hugged the black haired girl just like she had in times pass.

"It's good to see you again, Yuki-chan," Ryū said with a small smile before a sad look overtook her face, "but here you can't use your real name. Be careful of what you say and do. Don't let them know that you are an ice maiden. If Hojo hears even a rumor from any of the people here that you can make jewels with just your tears, he'll do whatever he can to make you cry." Ryū looked angry and gritted her teeth together loudly. "Yume, since that's what Hojo thinks you're name is now; promise me that you will not say a word about the ability of ice maidens or about you being an ice maiden."

"Okay, I promise." Yume, or rather Yukina, said.

"Good girl. Come on, I'd like to introduce you to some of my friends here."

Not long after, the two entered Ryū's room from the false wall. Kaigara and the others were still there, talking and making speculations about the newest person within the castle walls.

"I bet it's a girl, a really pretty one!" Kaigara said as he leaned back against the wall next to the bed.

"Nah, it's got to be a guy!" Kyo claimed as he did a series of squats.

"I think the new person is a girl," Tonbo said in a mink voice from one of the pillow near the table. None of them noticed the two girls standing next to the false wall.

"I _know_ that the new person is a girl." Ryū said and the others quickly turned to her and the girl who was slightly hidden behind her.

"Whoa!" Kaigara said as his mouth fell open and his eyes grew wide.

"She's lovely." Tonbo said as she blushed and looked down at her knees.

"Damn and I was hoping for a guy." Kyo snapped his fingers in disappointment.

"Idiot," Ryū said as she hit Kaigara and Kyo over the head.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" They yelled as they held their heads.


	2. The Rescue, Part 1

YuYu Hakusho:

Ryū's Tale

Chapter 2:

The Rescue, Part 1

Two weeks passed with little to no problems, but Ryū couldn't get over the feeling that something big was going to happen. Yukina still hadn't been given the bands that everyone but the guards and the Master wore. And everything else seemed normal enough… Kaigara, Kyo, and several others worked in the armory, Tonbo and several other had kitchen duty, there were people who cleaned the castle, people who took care of injuries… some only being allowed to heal the guards, and then there were the unsorted and Ryū. Ryū's job was simple, take care of the newbies and figure out within which category they fit. While it was a simple job, it wasn't really easy; most people didn't really fit into just one of the categories and she had to pick for them… Master had not been pleased to learn that she once let people choose for themselves and had punished her.

'Yume' wasn't cut out for the armory, of that Ryū was sure and didn't even think about sending the girl there for even a trial period. So that left Ryū with having to choose between kitchen duties, cleaning duty, and healing duty for her friend.

"Ryū?" said girl blinked and shook her head to clear it of her thoughts.

"Hm?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side slightly, not noticing the cat ears that twitched slightly above where her ears were normally.

'Yume' giggled at the sight and Ryū blinked twice in confusion. "Your cat ears are showing." Slowly, one of Ryū's hands rose to the area between where pointed ears should be and the top of her head to find a soft, furry triangular shaped appendage. A groan escaped the girl's lips as the cat ears disappeared and her pointed ears reappeared.

"You should've told me earlier," Ryū pouted as she crossed her arms.

"Sorry Ryū," she replied with a small smile. Ryū smiled and shrugged as she rose to her feet.

"Come on." Ryū called as she headed towards the door of their room. "It's…" She froze as a bell started to ring, it was high-pitched and being rung at a pace that was unusual.

"Ryū?" 'Yume' asked, confused and wondering what was wrong with her friend; she didn't know what the ringing of the bell meant but if her friend's reaction was anything to go by, it wasn't good.

"Be quiet, sit at the table," Ryū hissed out as she moved to the door, opened it slightly, and peered around it at the hall.

"Ryū!" Tonbo, Kaigara, and Kyo exclaimed as they rushed down the hallway. Ryū opened the door wide and let them in before shutting the door.

"This is bad!" Kaigara exclaimed.

"No duh!" Kyo snapped.

"Oh, Ryū! What are we going to do?" Tonbo latched onto the girl whose cat ears had reappeared.

"Kaigara, Kyo, status report?" Ryū asked and the two turned to face her while they both rose their left hand to their foreheads in a salute. "What is going on?"

"The bell that you heard ringing is the alarm that says we have uninvited guests." Kyo answered.

"Meaning we've got intruders on our hands." Kaigara grinned.

"Yes, I got that we are under attack; but what the hell's going on?" Tonbo gasped having never heard Ryū curse.

"Um…"

"Well…" The two boys scratched the back of their heads.

"Well?" Ryū asked her hands on her hips and a scowl on her lips.

"That's just it, Ryū; no one knows." Kaigara stated with a helpless shrug of his shoulders.

"The guards are forcing everyone they can into their rooms and locking the doors." Kyo continued with a scowl of his own.

"…" Ryū looked at both of the demons in front of her with disbelief.

"What?" the two exclaimed.

"You both work in the most heavily guarded area in the castle besides the Master's chambers and throne room and you didn't get grabbed and thrown in your rooms?" The two shared a look, blinking stupidly, and mouths working to form words that couldn't be heard as their minds tried to process her words.

"You all are special," Tonbo said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "It's easy to escape the guards if you've got kitchen, cleaning, or healing duty, but armory duty…"

Kaigara and Kyo started to retort when an explosion was heard, followed by yelling and running. They had all found themselves on the ground with debris falling from the ceiling. Kyo opened his mouth to start yelling, but a hand over his mouth stopped him. They all looked to Ryū who moved a finger to her lips and moved towards the door; she pulled twice but it would not move, she scowled and moved to the pseudo-wall near Yukina and found that the pass had not been closed. She turned and waved them over.

"Alright! Let's get out of this room!" Kaigara whisper-yelled as he and Kyo high-fived; the girls either giggled or rolled their eyes.

"No yelling, no screaming, try to be quiet…" Ryū said before gulping, "I don't know what's going on, but I think we'd be better off not drawing attention to ourselves." The others nodded and they heading into the hidden passages.

* * *

><p>"Ryū, where are we?" Tonbo asked as she clung onto her twin and followed her friend. Ryū turned her head to see behind her friend; they had gotten everyone that had been locked in their rooms and they currently were following them, or rather Ryū since she was the only one to know the hidden paths. There were hundreds of demons in this place, most of them were slaves and the others made up the guards. Ryū couldn't help but notice that they were all dressed in either kimonos, sweats, jumpsuits, or some skimpy outfit that left little to the imagination. There were cats, dogs, birds, horses, apparitions, elementals, and many more. Young, old, teenagers… the ages varied. It made her sad to see the fear, the sorrow, and the pain in their eyes, but she was happy to note a hint of hope gleam through that.<p>

"We're near the kitchens…" Ryū stated as she paused to listen. They could hear the sounds of battle; the cries of pain, of anger, the sound of metal clashing, the names of attacks, and the rumbles as the castle shook every now and then as well as making bits of the ceiling fall around them. The noises sounded distant and they thought they might be coming from the entrance hall. "Kyo, Kaigara, I want you two to take the lead; get them outside, take them to safety." Ryū said as she started to walk away.

"No way, Ryū, not without you." Kyo said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Besides, what kind of friends would we be if we left without you?" Kaigara asked as he and Kyo moved to stand next to her.

"Don't forget about me," Tonbo said as she and the ice apparition joined them.

"And what about the others?" Ryū asked, motioning to the hundreds of demons that had been following them.

"I-I-I know the way," stuttered a girl, slightly taller than Ryū with long blond hair and golden eyes.

"You sure?"

"Y-y-yes, I'm sure that I can show them the way." Her white ears twitched with nervousness; she had never done something like this before.

"Alright, take care all of you." Ryū said as she turned away.


	3. The Rescue, Part 2

(A/N: I apologize for the wait. I've been very busy and haven't gotten to really work on any of my stories until about a week ago and have been working very hard to get at least a few chapters done before I'm supposed to go camping.)

* * *

><p>YuYu Hakusho:<p>

Ryū's Tale

Chapter 3:

The Rescue, Part 2

"Ryū?" She paused, turning her head to the right to glance over her shoulder, waiting. After a few moments she turned to face the small group that had followed her. Kyo, Kaigara, Yukina, and Tonbo stood there; Yukina and Tonbo holding on to one another while Kyo and Kaigara looked like they were ready for a fight. "Let's rest for a bit," Kaigara said.

"The trembles stopped a little bit ago. I don't think we'll need to worry about the ceiling coming down on us." Kyo added. Ryū sighed and shook her head.

"Not yet, let's get a bit closer to our destination first." Ryū said as Tonbo wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek. "I want to get rid of these binding as soon as I can, don't you?"

"Of course we do, but Ryū," Kyo sighed, "We have to rest. We're exhausted, none of us has gotten any sleep recently and this is the first time we haven't had to be working-"

"And, what happens if the trembles and rumbling start up again? Do we take the risk of being caved in?" Ryū asked as her eyes narrowed.

"Well-"

"The girl has a point." A new voice spoke up from the way the group had come. They all turned to see who spoke, but Ryū thought Yukina knew the person from the way she seemed to light up. Before them was a group of five, four boys and a girl – or maybe it was three boys and two girls? The one who had spoken was a boy with slicked back hair, brown eyes, and a green outfit on – a uniform of some kind? To the boy's left was a taller boy with orange hair, black eyes, and a blue version of the other boy's attire. On the boy's other side was a boy – girl? – with long red hair, green eyes, and an outfit similar to the other two except that it was pinkish-purple and had yellow trim. To the girl/boy's right was the shortest member of their group, he had gravity defying black hair with white highlights in his bangs, piercing red eyes – that looked similar to Yukina's, only her's were gentle –, and his attire that could be seen was made up of a pair of black pants, black boots, a cloak that had a white collar, and a white headband wrapped around his forehead. The last member of their group was a girl with cotton candy blue hair tied up in a high ponytail, with purple eyes, and dressed in a blue t-shirt with a brown jacket over top, a pair of jeans, and tennis shoes.

"Yukina, my love!" the carrot top yelled when he saw the mint haired girl. Ryū was beside her instantly.

"Kazuma?" Yukina asked, looking happy and like she wanted to run to the boy, but stayed where she was after sensing the distrust from the girl next to her. "Ryū?" Yukina asked softly, placing a hand on the older girl's arm. The cat girl turned to face her friend with a gentle expression. "It's okay, they are friends. They saved me before."

Ryū froze at the ice maiden's words, her chest hurt, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. "_What?_" it came out as a strangled wheeze, but Ryū either didn't notice or didn't care as she continued. "Saved you from _what_, from _whom_?"

"Ryū… Ryū? Ryū!" Kyo waved his hand in front of her face, snapping her from her shock. She grabbed his wrist and heard the hiss of pain that he tried to hide. "Damn cat, you'd think she wouldn't have such a grip with how little she is." Kyo muttered as she released his wrist.

"Kyo…" Tonbo warned, but it was too late. Ryū had already pulled back her fist and let it fly at Kyo.

"What?" was all he got out before his breath was forced from his lungs and he was flying towards the wall behind him. A weak sound of pain escaped him as he slid to the floor.

"How many times have we told you not to mention her height?" Kaigara asked as he helped his friend up.

"_Too many to count_." The blue haired boy wheezed as he got to his feet and smiled like a loon despite the pain he obviously was in.

The other group shared a few looks as they took in the scene before them.

Ryū turned back to Yukina with a sigh, "Sorry about that Yuki-chan. You were saying?"

The boy with the slicked back hair spoke up before Yukina could. "Who the heck are you people?"

"Ryū of the Hidden Meadow," Ryū said only after Yukina smiled encouragingly at her.

Taking Ryū's reply as a signal the others introduced themselves. "Kyo Kōhei."

"Kaigara Shinzō."

"Tonbo Shinzō." The four bowed as one just as Yukina had seen Ryū do in the presence of Hojo and surprising the group before them.

"Uh, okay then. I'm Yusuke Urameshi," the boy with the slicked back hair said as he scratched his cheek, obviously not used to people bowing to him. Ryū raised an eyebrow at the boy who was so similar to Kyo.

"Botan's the name!" the blue haired girl said, sounding like she was going to continue to speak but not getting to as the orange haired boy – Kazuma? – butted in. She was different from Tonbo, who was more of the soft spoken type.

"I'm Kazuma Kuwabara, the toughest punk at Sarayashiki Junior High!" Ryū couldn't help but think that he was too much like Kaigara.

"You can call me Kurama." The red head said and Ryū blinked as she realized he was a boy and not a pretty girl. "And this is Hiei."

"Hn." The last boy, Hiei, said.

"Yukina," Ryū said, her eyes focused on the group before her.

"Ryū-san?"

"Just Ryū, thank you," a smile tugged at her lips. "Go with them. This is not your fight." Ryū said, hugged the ice maiden, turned and disappeared down the hallway with the others leaving the surprised girl behind and not giving anyone the chance to stop them.

"What did she mean by 'not your fight'?" Botan asked.

"They are going to fight their master." Yukina said in barely more than a whisper.

* * *

><p>"Ryū~!" Kaigara whined.<p>

"Shut up, we had our break already." Kyo yelled at the purple haired boy.

"But I'm tired!" Kaigara whined, "Ow! What the hell was that for?" Kyo had hit him over the head.

"Enough." Ryū said and silence followed for several minutes.

"Can we rest now? Ow!"

* * *

><p>"We'll stop here for now." Three sighs met her ears as a soft thump was heard.<p>

"Is it really safe here, Ryū?" Tonbo asked as she looked up at their leader. The scenery really hadn't changed.

"Yes, but we should be quiet as we move forward now. _His_ chambers aren't far from here." Ryū stated softly as she looked around with a slight frown. She was alert, listening for anything and everything.

"Hey Ryū."

"Hmm?"

"Why did you tell Yukina to go with them?" Kyo's question had everyone looking at Ryū.

A soundless sigh escaped her and without turning to face her friends said, "I told her to go with them… for her safety." A gloom-like aura seemed to settle around the group.

"What is that girl to you anyway?"

"She's…" Imagines flashed before her eyes; she saw two girls, one with black hair with a red tint and one with mint green hair playing tag and other games, and she saw snowflakes falling and lots of animals that came to play with them. "She's like… a sister to me. I don't want her anywhere near Hojo."

Kyo walked over to Ryū and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I don't think you have to worry about that." Ryū nodded slightly before pulling away from him and moving to lean against one of the walls while she gave her friends some time to recuperate.

It wasn't long before they were moving again. "Hey Ryū?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you think those guys found us before?"

A sigh escaped her lips, "I'd have to say that they found one of the entrances to the hidden pathways..." Ryū said as she motioned to the tunnel they were in. "Few people know that they even exist and those that do won't tell just anyone about them."

"But you showed everyone-"

"It was show them or leave them to their fates!" Ryū snapped, gritting her teeth together as she glared into the gloom, "They deserve the chance at freedom just as much as us. Do you wish that I had left them in their cages, in those rooms that we are forced into night after night?"

"No, but –"

"Quiet." Kyo ordered in a loud whisper. They all froze, listening, and looking around them for whatever had caught Kyo's attention. Voices could be heard ahead, they were faint but still there. Ryū began signaling orders with her hands.

Kyo nodded and took two steps back while dragging Tonbo with him. Kaigara took three steps ahead of Ryū and pressed his back to the left wall before nodding back at Ryū who nodded in response. Another signal from Ryū and the other three nodded before she crept forward to press her back against the wall opposite Kaigara. The pointed ears on the sides of Ryū's head disappeared as her hair fell just so that it covered where they should be and a pair of black fuzzy cat ears appeared on top of her head. The voices that had been hard to hear before became easier to understand and she closed her eyes to focus more on them.

"-I don't care that those bastards have disappeared! Find them!" that was Hojo's voice gone shrill from yelling. "Where is Blossom? Where did my cat demoness disappear to!?"

"S-sir, it appears as though," a gulp, "as if she's… she's escaped…"

"WHAT?!" Ryū winced at the loudness of that exclamation. "You let my precious pet ESCAPE!?" She winced again and the other three shared a few worried looks; they may have been demons and had good hearing but none of them could hear more than a few words every now and again. Ryū had the best hearing of the group. "FIND HER! FIND BLOSSOM NOW!" Ryū hissed softly in discomfort at the greedy, old demon's order. Moments later, her wrists and ankles started to burn thanks to the bands wrapped around them; Ryū didn't make a sound but pain flashed across her face.

"Ryū?" Tonbo whispered, only for Ryū to wave her off. Tonbo opened her mouth before snapping it shut at Ryū's sharp signal to remain silent.

The sound of running feet could be heard as the soldiers rushed off. Ryū, Kyo, Tonbo, and Kaigara stayed where they were for several long minutes. Ryū's ears twitched every now and again as she listened. After an hour or so, Ryū nodded and started forward and the others followed. They hadn't gone more than six feet when they heard footsteps behind them. Everyone, but Kaigara, turned to face behind; Kaigara keeping an eye on the way they had been headed. Moments later, the group from before came into view.

"_Yukina_," Ryū spoke in barely a whisper as she stepped closer to the newcomers. "What are you all doing here?"

Yukina was obviously nervous and was having a hard time meeting the older girl's eyes.

"Hey, leave her alone!" the orange haired boy - Kazuma was it? - yelled only for Ryū to cover his mouth within seconds of the words leaving his mouth.

"Quiet, you fool!" Ryū hissed out in a sharp whisper. "Do you have rocks for brains? _Master_," she spat the word as if it was poisonous, "will hear you!"

"Ryū," Tonbo whispered in a pleading voice. Ryū blinked and turned her attention to the human before her and quickly released him when she realized he was turning blue from lack of air.

"What the hell?" Yusuke asked.

"She's kinda like the shrimp." The idiot, as dubbed by Ryū, said. "Attitude and height wise."

"I may be short, but you're ugly." Ryū said as a smirk graced her lips, "I can grow. Too bad there's no cure for ugliness." The tallest member of them sputtered as everyone but Yukina laughed or chuckled.

"Aw, come on, Yukina. She's just teasing." Kyo said as he smiled and winked at the ice maiden. "Ryū doesn't mean anything by it."

"As if Dog-boy," Ryū snapped. "And stay away from her. She's not your type and you'll be forever without children if you don't back off now."

"Ryū, you wound me! Why ever would I go for an ice maiden when I could have a feisty kitten like you?" Kyo asked with a few drama poses.

"This _kitten_ with cut off your family jewels and feed them to you if you don't shut up." Ryū snapped and then paused thoughtfully. "Besides, I thought Tonbo was your girl." Kyo turned pale as a ghost at her words and all eyes turned to focus on Kyo, Tonbo, and her twin.

"Ryū!" Tonbo squeaked, her face as red as a cherry.

"Kyo!" Kaigara thundered, his face flushed in anger. "_You're_ the guy my sister's been daydreaming about?" Kyo started waving his hands in front of himself while nervously trying to get out a response that wouldn't result in getting his face punched in. Ryū simply rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck as if she didn't care.

"What is with this group?" Botan asked as Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed.

"They're always like this." Yukina said with a small smile.


End file.
